The Internet of Things (IoT) has pushed the IT department further and further into the fabric of the enterprise. IT used to work with the more technically sophisticated major business units, but now we are providing critical services to our police officers, locksmiths, electricians, HVAC professionals, construction contractors, and third-party vendors.
Stakeholders across other business units may be perplexed by the technology and intimidated or alienated by techno-wizard types. Use your collaboration and people skills to help them understand and earn their buy-in on the technology and business solutions you propose. You will have more success if you can flex and be relatable to this new group of customers.

Get Insights from IT Leaders to Drive Better Business and Customer Experience Outcomes

Meet Our Judges

Neelam Saini

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We’re seeing growing demand for single pane of glass management for branch network systems that include SD-WAN, switching, security, and wireless LAN. In 2019, we expect a significant shift towards this new wireless LAN standard.
We’re also seeing a growing trend for enterprises to move premises-based computing systems offsite to co-location facilities. In concert with the move to co-lo, we see a coincident move to support SD-WAN.

Blair Pleasant

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Jarod began his career with Gartner, gaining unparalleled experience in the IT industry and establishing himself as a respected thought leader. Currently as the Vice President of Product Marketing at Apptio, Jarod is widely known for his IT operations management and storytelling expertise. While his speaking engagements and customer interactions have taken him all over the world, he is proud to call Seattle, WA home.

There’s Strength in Unity

Director of Network Operations, Transit Wireless

Chief Infrastructure Officer, California State University, Office of the Chancellor
Winner Title, Company

One of my first initiatives when I joined the County of Santa Clara was putting together an action plan to improve internet connectivity throughout the parks system. This was my first significant exposure to IT networking as I led the team in designing and implementing a solution using a mix of technologies to provide significantly enhanced connectivity for users. The results have been exciting!
My key takeaway from the project and the tip I would offer is to develop patience—especially when undertaking something that’s new to you. Often the eagerness to taste success makes us impatient with challenges—be it technology, people, or culture.
Patience isn’t about learning to wait, it’s about focusing
on actions without letting delays or issues overshadow
the end goal.

Developing your team is key to success. My team has been engaged, focused, and committed to each endeavor. Without professionals who are dedicated and loyal to the greater belief, the potential for failure grows.
In my latest project, I learned that the “story” a solution tells through the impact to end-users, communities, and opportunity creation is a remarkable motivator to gain support and drive
the vision. Once a proper design was established—which met
the identified criteria to meet goals—the end-users, students, contributors, and developers were excited. And that excitement became infectious, generating new ideas and concepts within the team.
Sharing an idea or solution is good, but it’s not nearly as powerful as sharing the results or impact it had, which tells a story of meaning. So, find the story of your project. Generate passion where possible to get others motivated and inspired. Be open to ideas. Share thoughts and work to be transparent. Get buy-in early and find early successes in the efforts. Share in the success of others and with others.
In higher education, the focus of student success and stories surrounding how technology positively impacted the learning experience were key in growing the hesitant first 10 schools participating into the 16 schools jumping at the opportunity to leverage a defined technology solution which demonstrates repeated success.

How

Christopher J. Chagnon

Chris DePuy

Learn more about Michel.

Learn more about Denise.

Originally from Mumbai, India, Neelam Saini now lives in Cupertino, CA and joined the County of Santa Clara in 2015. As an IT Business Relationship Manager for the county, she often partners with the Parks and Recreation Department to enhance visitor and staff experiences using technology.
Her flagship project when she joined the County of Santa Clara was to improve WiFi connectivity across the county’s 28 parks, which cover roughly 50,000 acres and are often in remote, rugged areas. With more than 3 million people visiting the parks each year, someone needed to take the lead on creatively leveraging technology to deliver better connectivity and experiences. Neelam’s work on this project caught our judges’ eyes and led to her receiving a 2019 IT Vanguard Award.

Director of Computer and Network Services, Ridley School District

Building a Culture Around IT

Michel Davidoff

Thomas McCarthy’s career began when he was 7 years old after he got his hands on an IBM Tandy 128 and began programming. He entered the field at the professional level around 2000, working for U.S. Space Command within the United States Air Force. While there, he was involved in Satellite Ground Link Systems, large-scale mainframe farms, and secure fiber networks support a multi-billion dollar classified project.
In his current role, Thomas’s team runs the Transit Wireless network, which provides carrier, public safety, and public WiFi services to riders of New York City’s subway system. Implementing public WiFi was an arduous task, requiring solutions that could run under extremely difficult environmental conditions. His creative approach and results on this project are what earned him a spot on this year’s list of honorees.

Take the Time to Listen to and Educate Stakeholders

Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Northland Pioneer College

Take the Time to Listen to and Educate Stakeholders

Chris Chagnon began his career in IT services as a student, working at a help desk while he was studying to get his undergraduate degree. This experience, Chris says, shaped his career since it gave him experience working directly with end-users. Through his Ph.D. program, Chris is exploring new ways to further extend ITSM and its role in the enterprise.
One of Chris’s most innovative projects to date was his work on a self-service portal. End-users of the portal were struggling to find the right information, and help ticket volumes were reaching record numbers. In just three months, Chris collaboratively led a team to create a new portal and data design. The effect was immediate, reducing user-solvable service calls and resource costs, all while providing a world-class customer experience for end-users.
His work to build a platform that provides self-service opportunities to immediately provide end-users with a positive IT experience, as well as lower business costs, are why he’s being honored as a 2019 IT Vanguard.

As Chief Technology Officer for Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise's Network Business division, Michael See is responsible for establishing the technology direction for ALE's networking solutions and establishing strategic technology partnerships. He also participates in directing the intellectual property and standards activity at ALE.
Before assuming the CTO role, Michael held several technology and architecture leadership roles in enterprise networking and communications solutions at ALE. He's been with the company since 1999, joining ALE through the acquisition of Xylan. Michael began his career with IBM where he held a variety of system design and architecture roles within IBM's networking group.
Michael has a bachelor's degree in physics from Xavier University, and a master's degree in biomedical and electrical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Director of Infrastructure Solutions for Ellucian, College of Southern Nevada

My latest project has been a reimplementation of our IT service management system. In the past six years, we have learned a lot about providing services and supporting our users. Because of this, we recently made the decision to do a full reimplementation of our tooling.
This has been an amazing opportunity to make sure that
we are providing the best service we can to our users, but also that we are working efficiently with our tools. This growth opportunity has allowed us to learn what areas we’re doing well in, and which areas we still have room for improvement.
The biggest thing I’ve learned on this project is that sometimes starting over isn’t a loss, and it doesn’t have to be scary. Don’t be afraid to mess up. Messing up is just feedback that something isn’t working. Take that information and use it to make things right. No organization is perfect, and sometimes striving for perfect makes us lose focus on our real goals.

Blair is a seasoned communications industry analyst, providing strategic consulting services and market analysis on business communication applications, technologies, and markets. Her primary areas of focus include unified communications and collaboration, contact center, social media, and more. Blair is also a frequent speaker and participant in industry conferences, webinars, podcasts, and other events aimed at educating customers, solution providers, channel partners, investors, and others.

Neelam Saini

Michael See

Chief Information and Cybersecurity Officer, Truth Initiative

2019 IT Vanguards

Before launching his IT career, Michel was working as a chef in Berkeley, CA. Longing to work less and make more, he got a degree in computer science. However, he soon realized you work harder in IT than you do in a restaurant, but IT was something that he loves.
As the Chief Infrastructure Officer for California State University’s Office of the Chancellor, Michel is responsible for selecting and implementing LAN, WLAN, and security solutions for 23 campus state buildings and locations. He’s also spearheading a movement to the cloud as a way to increase efficiencies and accelerate the university’s goal to double the four-year graduation rate, which ultimately gets students to their goals and into their careers faster.
These are just some of the reasons why our judges chose Michel to receive a 2019 IT Vanguard honor.

Christopher J. Chagnon

Chief Information and Cybersecurity Officer, Truth Initiative

The IT Vanguard

Patience Is About Learning to Wait

Bill Kleyman

Learn more about Arne.

Learn more

There’s increasing pressure on IT network and enterprise communications teams to drive continuous service improvement and better business results. But you don’t necessarily mind—your innovative spirit and knack for problem solving means you welcome challenges.
Time is always of the essence, but patience and restraint are virtues for leaders to behold. Move too quickly and you can get tunnel vision, potentially missing opportunities or running into preventable roadblocks.
On the other hand, having the awareness and courage to admit that it’s time to push the restart button are hallmarks of strong leadership—and sometimes necessary to drive the best possible end-user experiences and results.

The Mark of an IT Vanguard

Don’t Be Afraid to Fail

Learn more

Learn more

The IT Vanguard Awards

Senior Manager, IT Operations and Networking, Alamo Community Colleges

Arne began his IT career with a computer science degree from the University of Texas, studying mainframes and operating systems theory. In the 1980s, Arne started his 30-year tenure with Alamo Community Colleges, honing in on the infrastructure side of IT.
Just a few of Arne’s accomplishments at Alamo Community Colleges include leading the implementation and management of their global TCP/IP network, upgrading their Ethernet deployment to shortest path bridging (SPB), and conducting a 1,000 switch refresh just last year. Now, Arne can add being a 2019 IT Vanguard honoree to that list.

There’s Strength in Unity

Keep fighting for what you believe is right. My most recent project aimed to upgrade our intelligent transportation system (ITS). It took me four years to get approval for this project.
My team and Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise completed it in
seven months.
Also, work with the right partners to make change. Installing our ALE backbone positions us to better implement connected vehicle solutions, which we have been testing and will soon deploy to production. Additionally, we believe we can better manage the future of autonomous and connected vehicles as they soon become a reality.

Director of Infrastructure Solutions for Ellucian, College of Southern Nevada

Honoring IT Network & Enterprise Communications Leaders Who Are Transforming the Customer Experience

Learn more

Patience Is About Learning to Wait

Vice President of Product Marketing, Apptio

Bill Kleyman

Are Innovating Expectations

Behind every good leader is a great team, something this year’s IT Vanguard honorees were quick to point out. Change simply doesn’t happen without a collective effort; unity strength.
When you take the time to involve your team in the details of your vision, they become more motivated and dedicated, collaboration comes easier, projects get done more quickly, and the results are more impactful.

Learn more about Derrick.

IT Business Relationship Manager, Technology Services and Solutions, County of Santa Clara

Your Team Plays an Integral Role in Your Success Story

The Internet of Things (IoT) has pushed the IT department further and further into the fabric of the enterprise. IT used to work with the more technically sophisticated major business units, but now we are providing critical services to our police officers, locksmiths, electricians, HVAC professionals, construction contractors, and third-party vendors.
Stakeholders across other business units may be perplexed by the technology and intimidated or alienated by techno-wizard types. Use your collaboration and people skills to help them understand and earn their buy-in on the technology and business solutions you propose. You will have more success if you can flex and be relatable to this new group of customers.

Developing your team is key to success. My team has been engaged, focused, and committed to each endeavor. Without professionals who are dedicated and loyal to the greater belief, the potential for failure grows.
In my latest project, I learned that the “story” a solution tells through the impact to end-users, communities, and opportunity creation is a remarkable motivator to gain support and drive
the vision. Once a proper design was established—which met
the identified criteria to meet goals—the end-users, students, contributors, and developers were excited. And that excitement became infectious, generating new ideas and concepts within the team.
Sharing an idea or solution is good, but it’s not nearly as powerful as sharing the results or impact it had, which tells a story of meaning. So, find the story of your project. Generate passion where possible to get others motivated and inspired. Be open to ideas. Share thoughts and work to be transparent. Get buy-in early and find early successes in the efforts. Share in the success of others and with others.
In higher education, the focus of student success and stories surrounding how technology positively impacted the learning experience were key in growing the hesitant first 10 schools participating into the 16 schools jumping at the opportunity to leverage a defined technology solution which demonstrates repeated success.

Beyond

SECTION 3

Arne Saustrup

Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Northland Pioneer College

Chris has more than 20 years of experience in financial and business analysis, and also boasts a master’s degree in engineering. As a research analyst, he’s covered software, communications, and the internet for major financial institutions. In his role at 650 Group, LLC, which he co-founded, he’s focused on technology intelligence research for communications, data center, and cloud markets. Institutional Investor and Greenwich Research Survey named Chris a top ranking Equity Research Analyst within the data-networking sector. Chris is the co-author of The Internet Report.

The most important thing I’ve learned from our one-to-one iPad project is that it takes a passionate and collaborative team of people to be successful with a project. You need to build new and nurture existing relationships.
You need to listen to ideas and know when to communicate your own. People bring different experiences with different skill sets to the table. All of these differences and diversities add value in constructing a successful project. When people feel they are being heard and contributing, they have “skin in the game”. This builds an intangible part of any project that will ultimately drive a successful outcome.

The rise of a multi-cloud world and increasing consumer demand for more personalized experiences have driven IT network and communications beyond a back-end business function: It’s a business differentiator.
To recognize the IT leaders rising to new challenges and opportunities that business landscape presents, we launched the inaugural IT Vanguard Awards. And today, we’re proud to announce this year’s honorees.
The 2019 IT Vanguards exemplify the incredible impact IT network and enterprise communications can have on the business and the lives of end-users. Read on to learn more about each honoree and their secrets to success, and get insights from our judges on key IT and customer experience trends.

Work With the Right Partners to Facilitate Change

We are ALE. Our mission is to make everything connect to create the customized technology experiences customers need. We deliver IT network and enterprise communications that work for your people, processes, and customers from your office, the cloud, or in combination.
A heritage of innovation and dedication to customer success has made ALE, marketed under the Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise brand, an essential provider of enterprise network, communications, and other technology services and solutions to over 830,000 customers worldwide. ALE has a global reach and local focus with more than 2,200 employees and 2,900 partners who serve over 50 countries.

Jarod Greene

The technology is the easy part—invest the most in getting the buy-in from the people who work with and for you.
Getting buy-in was a process we worked on for a long time. Trust the experts in this process, and encourage them to debate the merits of the requirement. Most of the time, they come to the same/similar conclusion. At that point, the buy-in is easy since it is the combined wisdom of many CSU experts.

The most important lesson I’ve learned is how valuable good people are. The most important piece to overcoming large obstacles for any IT leader is finding the right people to address them. Period.

Bill Kleyman

One of the key trends I’m watching today is the way organizations are personalizing interactions to improve the customer experience. Providing content and context to agents about the customer helps provide a more personalized experience for customers. This is being done by using AI, analytics, CRM integration, and other tools to understand who the customer is, their history with the organization, preferences, and more, helping customers get that "wow" experience.

is

IT Business Relationship Manager, Technology Services and Solutions, County of Santa Clara

We are incredibly pleased to be working with a knowledgeable panel of industry thought leaders for this recognition program. Learn more about them below.

Chris DePuy

Keep your eye on the end result, which for me is offering the best patient care we can. Even through the setbacks, you need to stay committed to your goal—and yourself!

The Continued Rise of Customer Experience

Don Otto

PJ Way

Denise Lefevre

Learn more

Thomas McCarthy

IT network and enterprise communications solutions in an enterprise are often viewed as basic utilities; something the enterprise needs but nothing transformative. Vanguards see beyond this characterization to establish a vision and strategy of leveraging IT network and enterprise communications technologies to transform the internal operations of the enterprise and the interactions the enterprise has with their customers. They also exhibit a willingness to challenge the status quo and investigate solutions other than the safe choice to drive their strategy.

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

Director of Computer and Network Services, Ridley School District

Learn more

By definition, vanguards are at the forefront of new developments or ideas, leading the way to change and innovation. And this definition fits our IT Vanguard honorees to a T. These IT network and enterprise communications professionals are:
• Challenging the status quo to deliver exceptional solutions to their customers.
• Leading large- or seemingly-small-scale transformation projects that are delivering big results.
• Using technology in an innovative way to solve business problems.
• Demonstrating exceptional leadership from project start to finish.

Senior Manager, IT Operations and Networking, Alamo Community Colleges Community Colleges

Michael See

One of my first initiatives when I joined the County of Santa Clara was putting together an action plan to improve internet connectivity throughout the parks system. This was my first significant exposure to IT networking as I led the team in designing and implementing a solution using a mix of technologies to provide significantly enhanced connectivity for users. The results have been exciting!
My key takeaway from the project and the tip I would offer is to develop patience—especially when undertaking something that’s new to you. Often the eagerness to taste success makes us impatient with challenges—be it technology, people, or culture.
Patience isn’t about learning to wait, it’s about focusing
on actions without letting delays or issues overshadow
the end goal.

I think that the one thing I would pass along to anyone in IT is to keep an open mind and be patient. There’s usually not a one-size-fits-all solution, so make sure that you do the homework necessary for you to be able to make educated decisions and not rush into something that may not be the right solution.
There may be many ways to accomplish the same task or project, but are they the right ones? When you have limited resources (e.g. time, money, personnel, experience, or all the above) put forth the effort to leverage your strengths and find the right product to address the weaknesses. In many cases, it may not be what you would traditionally do, but in many cases, it helps you sleep better at night.

One of the biggest things that I'm seeing is that we're all now adapting to a very much persistently connected world. Where "data" is the new oil of our generation, networking and communications are the critical pipes that carry this new valuable resource.
For IT leaders, this should be both a wake up call as well as a call to action. If you're running legacy gear, think about how it could be slowing down your business. Even if some systems "work", that doesn't mean they're actually bringing value to your organization and most of all, your users. My biggest recommendation is to be aware of new designs that are ready to take on the digital demands of today's market. These are the solutions that'll help define your business and even disrupt the market you're working with.

Neelam Saini

Don Otto has been with Ridley School District for more than three decades, starting as a student and then becoming an employee. His first job was as a data entry clerk in the payroll department. In 1993, he officially began his networking and telecommunications career for the district. By 1998, he was the Director of Computer and Network Services, a position he still holds today.
Don’s philosophy centers on his district’s students, and his cutting-edge approach to pioneering a one-to-one device initiative within his district over the past decade is why he’s been chosen for this year’s honor.

Chris DePuy

The Trends to Watch

Patience, Restraint & Humility Are Virtues of IT Leadership

Senior Manager, IT Operations and Networking, Alamo Community Colleges

More than 20 years ago, Kevin Uren was looking for a career change. He was working as an arcade supervisor at a casino when he saw an opening in the computer room. Computers were a hobby, so he gave it a shot and it paid off.
Over the last two decades, Kevin has worked across an array of industries from healthcare to manufacturing to construction. Today, he’s the Director of Infrastructure Solutions for Ellucian, within the College of Southern Nevada.
Kevin’s approach to building the right infrastructure to provide the most value and realize cost savings, as well as his willingness to move beyond “approved” solutions and test new options to find the best solution for his use case is why he’s being honored with this year’s class of IT Vanguards.

Kevin Uren

Minimize the Learning Curve Through Training

More than 20 years ago, PJ Way got his start in the IT field. Early in his career, he worked on a very small information systems team within a Fortune 500 company. Fast forward to today, PJ is now leading the information team at Northland Pioneer College, an organization that utilizes microwave technology to reach across more than 21,000 square miles to deliver higher education services.
PJ’s work to creatively design and deploy solutions to provide rural K-12 school districts in Arizona with equitable access to higher education opportunities is why he was chosen as one of this year’s honorees.

Arne Saustrup

PJ Way

Chief Infrastructure Officer, California State University, Office of the Chancellor

The right people. The right process. The right technology. These are the IT Commandments—the keys to producing results. But in the age of digital transformation and experience, driving meaningful change and innovation requires a cultural shift.
It’s more critical than ever for you to become an integral business leader by communicating the strategic benefits of your initiatives, working across the organization to get buy-in from key stakeholders, and engaging and supporting people on their journeys.
The bottom line? Success is rooted in culture. And culture is all about the experiences you create.

Implementing cybersecurity services, technologies, tools, and training for your employees to adopt requires a mindset change. Most users are reactive in creating a fix for an incident/issue. We are trying to be proactive in preventing those issues.
Over a year and a half ago, we automated our security awareness training to stimulate a proactive thought process for our employees to “Click Responsibly” when reviewing emails, attachments, and surfing the internet.
During this, I learned that patience and proactivity are key when setting expectations for the implementation of a cybersecurity strategy. Our culture is comprised of baby boomers and millennials. Therefore, the learning curve and adoption of security training, technologies, and services needed to be intuitive. Frequent communications on what to expect before, during, and after a new project roll-out, along with laymen-level training, has been our success for a high rate of adoption and end-user satisfaction.

IT Service Management Architect and Ph.D. Student

Jim Whalen

Derrick A. Butts, CISSP, ITILv3

Meet the Who Are Shaping

Derrick A. Butts launched his career as a prototype design engineer for a support group that was tasked with researching and developing sonar technologies for the Navy. This experience gave him a thirst for learning and seek a better understanding of systems, communications networks, and enterprise communications platforms.
He launched his own company in 2010, and his first non-profit customer was the Truth Initiative. Soon they made an offer for him to come aboard full-time as the Chief Information and Cybersecurity Officer in 2015, and he took it.
When he took the helm, his first order of business was to assess cloud offerings and how they would align with the organization’s strategic mission. After research, planning, and refining, new tools and technologies were integrated as part of technology refresh, ultimately seeing a 20% reduction in technology resource spending, 50% reduction in trouble tickets, and a 40% increase in productivity. With such impressive work, it’s clear that Derrick was more than deserving of an IT Vanguard Award.

Jim joined the U.S. Marine Corps. in 1975, where he received training on various types of radio systems. From there, he spent 20 years with the Marines, exposing him to many methods of transporting voice and data between enterprise and combat units.
After retiring, he held positions with both state and local governments to support public safety communications, which he’s still doing as the Traffic Operation Technology Manager for the Nevada Department of Transportation.
Jim’s team recently undertook an ambitious project to upgrade the department’s ITS network, which was experiencing several challenges such as lagging, lack of visibility into the day-to-day and moment-by-moment status of the network, and more. With careful planning and brilliant execution, Jim was able to lead his team to successfully meet all goals, which is why he’s been named a 2019 IT Vanguard Award honoree.

IT Business Relationship Manager, Technology Services and Solutions, County of Santa Clara

Learn more about Christopher.

Denise’s IT career began in a surprising place: the file room. After putting in countless hours of hard work, education, and effort, Denise climbed all the way up to Chief Information Officer of Oroville Hospital.
As CIO, Denise has met and exceeded the hospital’s many IT needs. For example, she implemented a 10G network with ubiquitous wireless, creating a barrier-less environment which could grow to include new initiatives. This new network helped bring their disparate systems together and also qualified the hospital for a new revenue-generating initiative. Thanks to her work, the billing process was simplified, patient safety was increased, and new revenue-generating streams were utilized. As a result, she can add IT Vanguard to her list of titles and accomplishments.

Bill brings more than 15 years of experience to his role as Director of Technology Solutions at EPAM. Using the latest innovations, such as AI, machine learning, blockchain, DevOps, and cloud and advanced technologies, Bill delivers solutions to customers that help them achieve their business goals and remain competitive in their market.
An active member in the technology industry, Bill was ranked No. 16 globally in a Onalytica study that reviewed the top 100 most influential individuals in the cloud landscape; and No. 4 in another Onalytica study that reviewed the industry’s top data security experts. In addition, Bill’s published and referenced work can be seen in WindowsITPro, Data Center Knowledge, InformationWeek, NetworkComputing, AFCOM, TechTarget, DarkReading, Forbes, CBS Interactive, Slashdot, and more.

Blair Pleasant

Blair is a seasoned communications industry analyst, providing strategic consulting services and market analysis on business communication applications, technologies, and markets. Her primary areas of focus include unified communications and collaboration, contact center, social media, and more. Blair is also a frequent speaker and participant in industry conferences, webinars, podcasts, and other events aimed at educating customers, solution providers, channel partners, investors, and others.

Chris has more than 20 years of experience in financial and business analysis, and also boasts a master’s degree in engineering. As a research analyst, he’s covered software, communications, and the internet for major financial institutions. In his role at 650 Group, LLC, which he co-founded, he’s focused on technology intelligence research for communications, data center, and cloud markets. Institutional Investor and Greenwich Research Survey named Chris a top ranking Equity Research Analyst within the data-networking sector. Chris is the co-author of

As Chief Technology Officer for Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise's Network Business division, Michael See is responsible for establishing the technology direction for ALE's networking solutions and establishing strategic technology partnerships. He also participates in directing the intellectual property and standards activity at ALE.
Before assuming the CTO role, Michael held several technology and architecture leadership roles in enterprise networking and communications solutions at ALE. He's been with the company since 1999, joining ALE through the acquisition of Xylan. Michael began his career with IBM where he held a variety of system design and architecture roles within IBM's networking group.
Michael has a bachelor's degree in physics from Xavier University, and a master's degree in biomedical and electrical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Bill brings more than 15 years of experience to his role as Executive Vice President of Digital Solutions at Switch. Using the latest innovations, such as cloud, cognitive systems, advanced data center architectures, and more, Bill helps Switch develop advanced solutions that impact the digital world.
An active member in the technology industry, Bill was ranked No. 16 globally in an Onalytica study that reviewed the top 100 most influential individuals in the cloud landscape; and No. 4 in another Onalytica study that reviewed the industry’s top data security experts. In addition, Bill’s published and referenced work can be seen in WindowsITPro, Data Center Knowledge, InformationWeek, NetworkComputing, AFCOM, TechTarget, DarkReading, Forbes, CBS Interactive, Slashdot, and more.

Executive Vice President of Digital Solutions, Switch

Bill Kleyman

Jarod began his career with Gartner, gaining unparalleled experience in the IT industry and establishing himself as a respected thought leader. Currently as the Vice President of Product Marketing at Apptio, Jarod is widely known for his IT operations management and storytelling expertise. While his speaking engagements and customer interactions have taken him all over the world, he is proud to call Seattle, WA home.

Vice President of Product Marketing, Apptio

Jarod Greene

More than 20 years ago, PJ Way got his start in the IT field. Early in his career, he worked on a very small information systems team within a Fortune 500 company. Fast forward to today, PJ is now leading the information team at Northland Pioneer College, an organization that utilizes microwave technology to reach across more than 21,000 square miles to deliver higher education services.
PJ’s work to creatively design and deploy solutions to provide rural K-12 school districts in Arizona with equitable access to higher education opportunities is why he was chosen as one of this year’s honorees.

Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Northland Pioneer College

PJ Way

Thomas McCarthy’s career began when he was 7 years old after he got his hands on an IBM Tandy 128 and began programming. He entered the field at the professional level around 2000, working for U.S. Space Command within the United States Air Force. While there, he was involved in Satellite Ground Link Systems, large-scale mainframe farms, and secure fiber networks support a multi-billion dollar classified project.
In his current role, Thomas’s team runs the Transit Wireless network, which provides carrier, public safety, and public WiFi services to riders of New York City’s subway system. Implementing public WiFi was an arduous task, requiring solutions that could run under extremely difficult environmental conditions. His creative approach and results on this project are what earned him a spot on this year’s list of honorees.

Director of Network Operations, Transit Wireless

Thomas McCarthy

Don Otto has been with Ridley School District for more than three decades, starting as a student and then becoming an employee. His first job was as a data entry clerk in the payroll department. In 1993, he officially began his networking and telecommunications career for the district. By 1998, he was the Director of Computer and Network Services, a position he still holds today.
Don’s philosophy centers on his district’s students, and his cutting-edge approach to pioneering a one-to-one device initiative within his district over the past decade is why he’s been chosen for this year’s honor.

Director of Computer and Network Services, Ridley School District

Don Otto

Originally from Mumbai, India, Neelam Saini now lives in Cupertino, CA and joined the County of Santa Clara in 2015. As an IT Business Relationship Manager for the county, she often partners with the Parks and Recreation Department to enhance visitor and staff experiences using technology.
Her flagship project when she joined the County of Santa Clara was to improve WiFi connectivity across the county’s 28 parks, which cover roughly 50,000 acres and are often in remote, rugged areas. With more than 3 million people visiting the parks each year, someone needed to take the lead on creatively leveraging technology to deliver better connectivity and experiences. Neelam’s work on this project caught our judges’ eyes and led to her receiving a 2019 IT Vanguard Award.

IT Business Relationship Manager, Technology Services and Solutions, County of Santa Clara

Neelam Saini

More than 20 years ago, Kevin Uren was looking for a career change. He was working as an arcade supervisor at a casino when he saw an opening in the computer room. Computers were a hobby, so he gave it a shot and it paid off.
Over the last two decades, Kevin has worked across an array of industries from healthcare to manufacturing to construction. Today, he’s the Director of Infrastructure Solutions for Ellucian, within the College of Southern Nevada.
Kevin’s approach to building the right infrastructure to provide the most value and realize cost savings, as well as his willingness to move beyond “approved” solutions and test new options to find the best solution for his use case is why he’s being honored with this year’s class of IT Vanguards.

Director of Infrastructure Solutions for Ellucian, College of Southern Nevada

Kevin Uren

Chris Chagnon began his career in IT services as a student, working at a help desk while he was studying to get his undergraduate degree. This experience, Chris says, shaped his career since it gave him experience working directly with end-users. Through his Ph.D. program, Chris is exploring new ways to further extend ITSM and its role in the enterprise.
One of Chris’s most innovative projects to date was his work on a self-service portal. End-users of the portal were struggling to find the right information, and help ticket volumes were reaching record numbers. In just three months, Chris collaboratively led a team to create a new portal and data design. The effect was immediate, reducing user-solvable service calls and resource costs, all while providing a world-class customer experience for end-users.
His work to build a platform that provides self-service opportunities to immediately provide end-users with a positive IT experience, as well as lower business costs, are why he’s being honored as a 2019 IT Vanguard.

IT Service Management Architect and Ph.D. Student

Christopher J. Chagnon

Denise’s IT career began in a surprising place: the file room. After putting in countless hours of hard work, education, and effort, Denise climbed all the way up to Chief Information Officer of Oroville Hospital.
As CIO, Denise has met and exceeded the hospital’s many IT needs. For example, she implemented a 10G network with ubiquitous wireless, creating a barrier-less environment which could grow to include new initiatives. This new network helped bring their disparate systems together and also qualified the hospital for a new revenue-generating initiative. Thanks to her work, the billing process was simplified, patient safety was increased, and new revenue-generating streams were utilized. As a result, she can add IT Vanguard to her list of titles and accomplishments.

Chief Information Officer, Oroville Hospital

Denise Lefevre

Arne began his IT career with a computer science degree from the University of Texas, studying mainframes and operating systems theory. In the 1980s, Arne started his 30-year tenure with Alamo Community Colleges, honing in on the infrastructure side of IT.
Just a few of Arne’s accomplishments at Alamo Community Colleges include leading the implementation and management of their global TCP/IP network, upgrading their Ethernet deployment to shortest path bridging (SPB), and conducting a 1,000 switch refresh just last year. Now, Arne can add being a 2019 IT Vanguard Award honoree to that list.

Senior Manager, IT Operations and Networking, Alamo Community Colleges

Arne Saustrup

Derrick A. Butts launched his career as a prototype design engineer for a support group that was tasked with researching and developing sonar technologies for the Navy. This experience gave him a thirst for learning and seek a better understanding of systems, communications networks, and enterprise communications platforms.
He launched his own company in 2010, and his first non-profit customer was the Truth Initiative. Soon they made an offer for him to come aboard full-time as the Chief Information and Cybersecurity Officer in 2015, and he took it.
When he took the helm, his first order of business was to assess cloud offerings and how they would align with the organization’s strategic mission. After research, planning, and refining, new tools and technologies were integrated as part of technology refresh, ultimately seeing a 20% reduction in technology resource spending, 50% reduction in trouble tickets, and a 40% increase in productivity. With such impressive work, it’s clear that Derrick was more than deserving of an IT Vanguard Award.

Chief Information and Cybersecurity Officer, Truth Initiative

Derrick A. Butts, CISSP, ITILv3

Before launching his IT career, Michel was working as a chef in Berkeley, CA. Longing to work less and make more, he got a degree in computer science. However, he soon realized you work harder in IT than you do in a restaurant, but IT was something that he loves.
As the Chief Infrastructure Officer for California State University’s Office of the Chancellor, Michel is responsible for selecting and implementing LAN, WLAN, and security solutions for 23 campus state buildings and locations. He’s also spearheading a movement to the cloud as a way to increase efficiencies and accelerate the university’s goal to double the four-year graduation rate, which ultimately gets students to their goals and into their careers faster.
These are just some of the reasons why our judges chose Michel to receive a 2019 IT Vanguard honor.

Chief Infrastructure Officer, California State University, Office of the Chancellor

Michel Davidoff

Jim joined the U.S. Marine Corps. in 1975, where he received training on various types of radio systems. From there, he spent 20 years with the Marines, exposing him to many methods of transporting voice and data between enterprise and combat units.
After retiring, he held positions with both state and local governments to support public safety communications, which he’s still doing as the Traffic Operation Technology Manager for the Nevada Department of Transportation.
Jim’s team recently undertook an ambitious project to upgrade the department’s ITS network, which was experiencing several challenges such as lagging, lack of visibility into the day-to-day and moment-by-moment status of the network, and more. With careful planning and brilliant execution, Jim was able to lead his team to successfully meet all goals, which is why he’s been named a 2019 IT Vanguard Award honoree.